Epidermal Wound Healing

Summary:

The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is made up of three layers: epidermis (outermost layer), dermis (inner layer) and subcutaneous tissue.  A disruption in the skin that results in damage to the epidermis or dermis constitutes a wound.  This research is concerned with mathematically modeling various aspects that influence the wound healing process, such as oxygen availability, growth factors, and presence of infections.  Our goal is to develop models which predict the healing rate and also provide insight into possible treatments that can accelerate the healing rate.